Chapter 182: ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? (9)

Chapter 182: Road Hunting (9)

‘I didn’t think so?’

Johan wondered. Johan did not believe the honor and conscience of the knights of the St. Guntsalva Knight Order, he just thought about what they had received.

The knight order received a lot from this hunt. If Johan had not stood up, how much bigger would their damage have been, how much more embarrassing it would have been to guess.

In such a situation, if the knights are going to be jealous of Johan and try to undermine him, wouldn’t Johan respond if he’s not an a**hole?

Right before the banquet atmosphere cools down, he will yell that the knights’ help was useless.

The knights should know that well, so why are they doing that?

‘Are they narrower than I thought?’

Johan did not ignore the emperor’s words. Although the emperor was young, wasn’t he a royal who had lived in Vynashchtym all his life? He would know much better than Johan.

‘I have to prepare to respond if trouble arises.’

Just before the conversation with the emperor ended, a knight from the knight order approached. Looking unfamiliar without armor and wearing an expensive silk tunic with jewelry on it, the knight was closer to a nobleman than a monastery knight.

“Your Excellency! There was a shameful incident on this expedition. Do you know what it is?”

“Are you claiming that I didn’t kill the first manticore alone?”

“Yes. . .? Ah, no. What do you mean?”

The knight was surprised and denied it. He wondered what Johan was talking about.

“It was really embarrassing that the knights didn’t finish off the beast properly and had to move Your Excellency twice. I want to offer you a drink for your honor.”

“. . .I see.”

Johan awkwardly accepted the drink. Only mercenaries and Johan’s subordinates participated in the first hunt, so he thought they would aim for that side, but it wasn’t at all.

The next knight came. Seeing his unfamiliar face, he was not a knight who went hunting with Johan. Come to think of it, he was the knight who was angry at Johan’s rudeness at the meeting.

“Honorable Your Excellency. You made a mistake.”

“What is it?”

Johan grabbed the glass he was holding. The emperor saw it clearly. The shape of the solid metal glass changing.

‘Such a crazy b*stard. . .’

“You should have punished me for daring to intervene when you were reprimanding the other knights. Give me a punishment now!”

“. . .It’s over and it’s a pleasant occasion, how can I punish you? It seems like you’re already reflecting on your own. That’s enough. Go enjoy yourself.”

“Thank you!”

After that, the knights did not really come to quarrel. They came to thank, praise honor, offer a drink, ask to visit their fiefdom later. . .

As this happened repeatedly, the emperor became very embarrassed. When Johan looked at him with an expression of ‘what’s going on?’, the emperor avoided his gaze.

‘Have you ever seen such b*stards.’

The local nobles were known for their arrogance and arrogance.

Pride in Vynashchtym, power established as the local tycoon for a long time.

They were not so dignified even in front of the emperor, let alone outsiders.

‘In front of the mercenary captain from the republic last time, they made nonsense, but these guys. . .!’

If they had been kind, polite and respectful of others from the beginning, the emperor would have been very happy.

However, the guys who insulted and talked nonsense to another foreign mercenary captain in various ways a few years ago are acting like they are welcoming their first night. . .

It felt like they could have acted politely until now but didn’t, which was more irritating. I wanted to splash alcohol on their faces.

“Is this some kind of trick? Will they make tricks later when it gets a little late?”

“No. Just. . . it doesn’t seem like anything. Just drink.”

“What is it. Stingy.”

“I didn’t know those guys would act like that either!”

“Or stop it, why are you angry?”

When the emperor grumbled, the knights next to him seemed to have misunderstood his meaning. He came over and spoke politely.

“Your Majesty. I know you regret not hunting the monster directly. But isn’t hunting monsters a very dangerous thing? Let alone this manticore was a really formidable opponent. If Your Majesty had participated directly. . .”

The emperor angrily drove away the knight. The knight withdrew in a panic without knowing why.

????????????????????????

After the banquet ended, Johan woke up late. ’s banquets tended to go on longer, more extravagantly and more decadently than the Empire’s. Nobles who had drunk late into the night were still passed out.

“Where’d you get this fake?!”

The centaurs of the plains were always terrifying. As soon as Euclyia entered, she nimbly grabbed Jyanina’s hair, making escape to the back of the tent difficult.

Overcome with fear, Jyanina cried out.

“Why are you doing this! Why!”

“You said an absolutely unbreakable rope made from manticore tendons!”

“It doesn’t break! You couldn’t break it!”

Jyanina shouted as if wronged. The threat to her life made her more desperate.

“We couldn’t break it, but His Excellency the Count ripped it easily by hand.”

“I can’t believe it! Bring it here!”

“I told you not to harass wizards didn’t I, Euclyia? Let her go.”

At Johan’s word, Euclyia slyly released her hand, then hid it behind her back. Anyone watching would think she hadn’t done anything.

Jyanina glared at Euclyia, aggrieved, but Euclyia’s expression didn’t change one bit.

“What did the wizard say?”

“We asked her to make something so she that, saying it’s an absolutely unbreakable rope to use capturing monsters. But it tore!”

“Hmm. . . I doubt it would tear capturing monsters. Just consider it a sturdy rope. That much is certainly impressive enough.”

Hearing Johan’s words, the centaurs calmed down with convinced expressions, nodding.

“True, even just that much is certainly usable enough.”

“Once it’s thrown and wraps something up, it probably couldn’t escape easily.”

“Monsters who use brute strength as clumsily as His Excellency are rare. . .”

“His Excellency can hear you, you know.”

“Oh dear.”

Seeing the centaurs convinced by Johan’s words, Jyanina hurriedly added:

“That’s right. His Excellency here hunted many powerful monsters, so his soul’s power must have grown tremendously strong. That’s why he can exhibit such power.”

“What?!”

Speaking wizard-like tales like Suetlg or Caenerna, Johan was a bit surprised by Jyanina.

He hadn’t thought she was anything more than a goblin shaman grunting like a warthog, but it turns out she can speak properly about magic.

As life grows to what it should be, soul power naturally strengthens. That’s why wizards try to live lives fitting of mystification, no?

It wasn’t just in folk tales and bards’ songs that knights accomplishing great feats gained transcendental abilities. Here such miracles truly existed.

‘It’d be nice if there was one or two more malevolent spirits like Valkalmur.’

Even capturing something like manticore, Valkalmur was already obedient enough that nothing more would come of it. If Johan were another knight, he might have used manticore to make that spirit even more subservient, gaining more power. . .

“Alright, let’s let it slide this time. But be more careful from now on, got it?”

“We’ll be watching to see if you properly use magic.”

Seeing the vulgar brutes threatening her then leaving like it’s nothing, Jyanina wanted to swear but held back. Magic was far off while the centaurs’ fists were near, after all.

Johan wondered aloud:

“That wand, you set manticore’s heart in it?”

“What?!”

Jyanina was stunned, as if fainting. Of course she didn’t just leave manticore’s heart exposed at the end of the wand. She wrapped it in silk and leather so it wouldn’t be visible from the outside, then carefully affixed it.

Yet he just guessed it like that? As if he had eyes that could see through or something, or maybe. . .

“Uh, how did you know?”

“I’ve traveled with wizards so much, don’t I have eyes for seeing magic? I can feel the power of magic from within.”

“Wow. . .!!”

Only then did Jyanina realize Johan was versed in magic.

“Can I see that wand a bit?”

“No, I absolutely can’t let it be taken away!”

“. . . . . .”

“. . .I-I’m not doubting you, Your Excellency.”